Charity Archives - Scott's Thinking

Deciding which charity to support is straightforward for some. However, it can also be quite haphazard. Choosing your charity is a personal choice. It can be based on a singular reason or be multifactor.

I had a policy that if friends or colleagues asked me to sponsor them for their activity, I would. And if it involved a children’s charity, I would donate £20. All others would get £5, £10 or £15. Some years I had quite a few requests.

Sometimes I would be so busy at the time of the request, I would forget. Other times they would be on a new charity platform that I had to sign up to. That didn’t always work because if it wasn’t quick and easy, it wouldn’t get done.

We donate to other charities too, based on a few criteria. Although one we support is just because they came to our door and the kids thought we should do it because the person was so nice.

If someone you know is being, or has been, impacted by something, that can make the choice a lot simpler. Also, if your family has always supported a certain charity, you might inherit that habit too.

I do recall the phrase, ‘Charity begins at home.’ This is a good idea. Although it is nice to branch out a little and spread it amongst the community. Not everyone has a family that can help them.

Choosing your charity is a personal decision. How do you decide?

Do you do something for charity, your community, people coming up behind you? It’s good to reflect on this. How do you give back?

I am trying to add more of this into my days. I do it sporadically and I would like to do it in a more structured way. It starts with giving my time to people who are building their careers or businesses. Then, Money for charitable causes and effort for good causes.

Getting clear on how to apportion time and money, and setting those aside for good causes, is a useful exercise. It makes you stop and think about what you do now, what might be good and even how it makes you feel. Should you set aside more time and money? To whom and how should that be done?

Some people are very good with structuring their thoughts around this. I’ve known people to set aside x amount of money and y amount of time. Then they gift that away through the year. Other people simply donate a lump sum and that’s that. All requests after that are denied.

Some people will give money freely but not their time. While others do the opposite. There are those that give 1% of their income while others give away most or all of it, like the incredible Chuck Feeney.

How do you give back?

Tag: Charity

Choosing Your Charity

How Do You Give Back?